Apache HTTP Server Version 1.3

Using Apache With Novell NetWare

This document explains how to install, configure and run
Apache 1.3 under Novell NetWare 5.x and above. If you find any bugs,
or wish to contribute in other ways, please
use our bug reporting
page.

The bug reporting page and new-httpd mailing list are not
provided to answer questions about configuration or running Apache.
Before you submit a bug report or request, first consult this document, the
Frequently Asked Questions page and the other
relevant documentation topics. If you still have a question or problem,
post it to the
novell.devsup.webserver newsgroup, where many
Apache users are more than willing to answer new
and obscure questions about using Apache on NetWare.

Most of this document assumes that you are installing Apache
from a binary distribution. If you want to compile Apache
yourself (possibly to help with development, or to track down
bugs), see the section on Compiling Apache for
NetWare below.

Information on the latest version of Apache can be found on
the Apache web server at http://www.apache.org/. This
will list the current release, any more recent alpha or
beta-test releases, together with details of mirror web and
anonymous ftp sites.

There is no Apache install program for NetWare currently. You
will need to compile apache and copy the files over to the
server manually. An install program will be posted at a later
date. If you are running NetWare 6, Apache for NetWare has been
installed by default.

Follow these steps to install Apache on NetWare from the
binary download (assuming you will install to sys:/apache):

Unzip the binary download file to the root of the SYS:
volume (may be installed to any volume)

To start Apache just type apache at the
console. This will load apache in the OS address space. If you
prefer to load Apache in a protected address space you may
specify the address space with the load statement as follows:

load address space = apache apache

This will load Apache into an address space called apache.
Running multiple instances of Apache concurrently on NetWare is
possible by loading each instance into its own protected
address space.

After starting Apache it will be listening to port 80
(unless you changed the Port, Listen
or BindAddress directives in the configuration
files). To connect to the server and access the default page,
launch a browser and enter the server's name or address. This
should respond with a welcome page, and a link to the Apache
manual. If nothing happens or you get an error, look in the
error_log file in the logs
directory.

Once your basic installation is working, you should
configure it properly by editing the files in the
conf directory.

To unload Apache running in the OS address space just type
the following at the console:

unload apache

If apache is running in a protected address space specify the
address space in the unload statement:

unload address space = apache apache

When working with Apache it is important to know how it will
find the configuration files. You can specify a configuration
file on the command line in two ways:

-f specifies a path to a particular configuration
file

apache -f "vol:/my server/conf/my.conf"

apache -f test/test.conf

In these cases, the proper ServerRoot should be set in the
configuration file.

If you don't specify a configuration file name with -f,
Apache will use the file name compiled into the server, usually
"conf/httpd.conf". Invoking Apache with the -V switch will
display this value labeled as SERVER_CONFIG_FILE. Apache will
then determine its ServerRoot by trying the following, in this
order:

A ServerRoot directive via a -C switch.

The -d switch on the command line.

Current working directory

The server root compiled into the server.

The server root compiled into the server is usually
"sys:/apache". invoking apache with the -V switch will display
this value labeled as HTTPD_ROOT.

Apache is configured by files in the conf
directory. These are the same as files used to configure the
Unix version, but there are a few different directives for
Apache on NetWare. See the Apache
documentation for all the available directives.

The main differences in Apache for NetWare are:

Because Apache for NetWare is multithreaded, it does not
use a separate process for each request, as Apache does
with Unix. Instead there are only threads running: a parent
thread, and a child which handles the requests. Within the
child each request is handled by a separate thread.

So the "process"-management directives are
different:

MaxRequestsPerChild
- Like the Unix directive, this controls how many requests
a process will serve before exiting. However, unlike Unix,
a process serves all the requests at once, not just one, so
if this is set, it is recommended that a very high number
is used. The recommended default, MaxRequestsPerChild
0, does not cause the process to ever exit.

ThreadsPerChild -
This directive is new, and tells the server how many
threads it should use. This is the maximum number of
connections the server can handle at once; be sure and set
this number high enough for your site if you get a lot of
hits. The recommended default is ThreadsPerChild
50.

ThreadStackSize
- This directive tells the server what size of stack to use
for the individual threads. The recommended default is
ThreadStackSize 65536.

LogRotateDaily - This directive allows all custom logs to be rotated
on a daily basis. The file name of each log will contain the date
and time that the log was created. The default for this directive
is "Off".

LogRotateInterval - This directive allows all custom logs to be
rotated on a specified interval. The file name of each log will
contain the date and time that the log was created. The interval
is specified as N minutes. The default is no interval or
"0".

The directives that accept filenames as arguments now
must use NetWare filenames instead of Unix ones. However,
because Apache uses Unix-style names internally, you must
use forward slashes, not backslashes. Volumes can be used;
if omitted, the drive with the Apache executable will be
assumed.

Apache for NetWare has the ability to load modules at
runtime, without recompiling the server. If Apache is
compiled normally, it will install a number of optional
modules in the \Apache\modules directory. To
activate these, or other modules, the new LoadModule directive
must be used. For example, to active the status module, use
the following (in addition to the status-activating
directives in access.conf):